Satwik-Chirag pull out of Sudirman Cup 2025 due to sickness

Their withdrawal further weakens India’s depleted squad at Xiamen.

The former World Number #1 men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the Sudirman Cup 2025, owing to sickness, as reported by the Badminton Association of India (BAI). It is unclear about which of the two are unfit to participate in the tournament starting next week.

The 19th edition of the Sudirman Cup is set to be held in the city of Xiamen, China from April 27 to May 4. While India had crashed out in the quarterfinals of the Asian Mixed Team Championships, they managed to secure qualification based on World rankings. India have been placed in Group D, along with five-time runners-up Indonesia, two-time runners-up Denmark and England.

Considering they have been placed in a reasonably tough group, the recent developments have further diminished the team’s chances to qualify for the knockouts in the mixed team tournament. The likes of PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and HS Prannoy (all of whom have been in poor form in recent times) will be looking to put forth a strong challenge as far as the singles matches are considered.

However, the squad wears a bleak look with respect to the men’s doubles and women’s doubles sections, considering the pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand had earlier pulled out, owing to shoulder injuries to both.

Also Read: Sudirman Cup 2025: Malaysia, Japan, China among title favourites with strong field

With the World Number #11 pair not participating in the competition, the duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will have their task cut out against some of the best men’s doubles pairs in the world.

Satwik-Chirag, reigning Asian Games and CWG champions have been enduring tough times recently. While Rankireddy was bereaved in February this year following the passing away of his father, Shetty suffered a back injury following which they had to concede their All England Championships second round fixture against Hao Nan Xie and Wei Han Zheng.

They have been out of action ever since and were forced to miss the Badminton Asia Championships. Having just participated in four competitions this year (including semi-final finishes at the Malaysia Open and the India Open), the ‘Brothers of Destruction’ would be looking to bounce back soon.

India’s group stage schedule at Sudirman Cup 2025

April 27 – India vs Denmark

April 29 – India vs Indonesia

May 1 – India vs England

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